This 60-year-old Chinese farmer studied law for 16 years to fight the chemical firm polluting his land
'Where there is a will, there is a way', a saying so motivating that it pushes people to work harder even when nothing seems to be going right. Wang Enlin's story is one such example.
Living in Yushutun, a village on the outskirts of Qiqihar in Heilongjiang Province, Wang is a Chinese farmer. In 2001, he realised that Qihua Group, a state-owned firm, had been disposing of its waste in the farmlands and polluting them. Wang first approached the Land Resources Bureau of Qiqihar, informing them of the toxic waste water being discharged into the farmlands, including a few in the nearby village. However, he was always dismissed by the village officials who asked him to produce evidence showing that the land was being adversely affected by the waste water.
Meanwhile, the land was losing its arability, having a detrimental effect on a village whose inhabitants depend largely on agriculture for their livelihood. There is a government document from 2001 reporting the same. The document also claims that the company produced poly vinyl chloride and release 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of waste each year.
After being dismissed by the village officials on the basis of lack of evidence, Wang tells Daily Mail,
I knew I was in the right, but I did not know what law the other party had broken or whether or not there was evidence.
Wang then decided to take matters into his own hands and started studying law himself. This intense preparation continued for the next 16 years for this farmer who had just been educated up till the third grade. The easier thing to do would have been to hire professional legal counsel but due to the financial circumstances, Wang knew that this was not even an option. Given his financial difficulties, he could not even afford the law books. So he went to a local bookshop every day, read books there, and copied all the relevant information needed by hand. In exchange for letting him spend time and study in the bookshop, he offered the shopkeeper a bag full of corn. Using his legal knowledge, he soon started guiding his neighbours to search for evidence as well.
His efforts were rewarded in 2007 when a big Chinese legal firm decided to assist Wang and his neighbours with their case and also agreed to help him file a petition in the court. After eight years' delay due to some unspecified complications, the court began their proceedings in 2015. The evidence gathered by Wang and his neighbours won them their first round.
A financial compensation of CNY 820,000 (£96,000) would be given by Qihua Group to the villagers in Yushutun according to the decision made by the Angangxi District Court of Qiqihar. Qihua Group has now appealed against the court's decision.
This dedicated and determined Chinese farmer worked hard towards his goal and proved that nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it. Wang summed up his own struggle and journey by saying:
We will certainly win. Even if we lose, we will continue to battle.
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